They aren't throwing or catching touchdowns. They don't break off long runs.

That's the life of an offensive line.

But to East Bernard, that group is where it all begins.

Without these seniors, there is no 13-0 record. There aren't consecutive wins over Hempstead, a 2011 state finalist, and Rice Consolidated, a rival that outscored East Bernard 73-20 in their previous two meetings, which gave the team confidence going into district.

And there wasn't Friday's victory over No. 1 Refugio to advance to the Division II-2A semifinals.

"Those are the guys that do all the work, and everybody knows that," East Bernard coach Jerry Long said. "They're in the trenches play after play, week in and week out. That's where it all starts.

So much so that East Bernard never abandoned its plan against Refugio, the defending state champion.

Power in the trenches

The Brahmas racked up 542 yards of offense - 356 on the ground behind that line. East Bernard scored on runs of 67, 36, 33, 28, 6 and 2 yards.

"Those guys have been a joy to be around and have worked their tails off," Long said.

The line defines the senior class, which also dominates a defensive front that has shined. East Bernard has six shutouts and allowed only Refugio to score more than 16 points.

But even the 54-23 win, in which the Brahmas scored 41 straight points in the second half, was significant. Refugio didn't score in the final two quarters.

This was a team that made news last season for scoring 70, 80 and 90 points in games. This year, the Bobcats outscored their seven district opponents 495-7.

"A lot of pats on the backs; a lot of congratulations. And it's well deserved," Long said. "But we came in Saturday morning after that game and really tried to focus them on what's ahead and said, 'What you've done is great and people will remember it, but you still have two more.' "

East Bernard, which adopted the motto "Brahma Family - All In," will continue to lean on those seniors.

Sensing history

The 14-member class has its notable standout in Ty Slanina. The TCU verbal commit does a little bit of everything - he caught a touchdown, ran for three more and intercepted a pass Friday.

But it's the group that has East Bernard two games away from history. The 1977 Class 1A champs last played for a title in 1982.

"I told the kids Monday, 'We want to play two games in 11 days. You think about all the days you've been doing this since Aug. 1 - too many to count - and we have a possible 11 days left,' " Long said. "That's what's been good about this group. They know when they walk out there what they need to do, and they've been able to do that."